


The Conspiracy

by Maidenjedi



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-14
Updated: 2014-08-14
Packaged: 2018-02-13 02:54:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,425
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2134452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maidenjedi/pseuds/Maidenjedi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Willow was not his accomplice.  No, seriously, she wasn't.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Conspiracy

**Author's Note:**

  * For [angelus2hot](https://archiveofourown.org/users/angelus2hot/gifts).



> So, I brought Willow into this to get her perspective on Riley Finn, and how he goes about courting Buffy once he realizes he actually does like her. Poor Willow, she had to listen to Riley wax poetic while her heart was still in tatters. But she's always happy for Buffy. Some dialogue taken from "The Initiative."

Willow looked at her tear-streaked face in the mirror and proceeded with her rant. "That Riley Finn is just a mean, mean person. How could anyone nice work for that evil Professor Walsh? I mean, who talks like that, all superior like a person's feelings don't matter, like a person doesn't even have any? Riley just stood there with his smug little grin and his floppy hair and he just...he just... And how do they know Oz isn't coming back? He misses one class and bam, nothing."

And she began to sob all over again, flinging herself down on the bed, holding on to the pillow like it had arms and could hug her back. The way Oz would.

But, of course, _of course_ , Oz was gone.

He wouldn't be gone, not really, if his name had just been called that morning in psych. 

Willow knew that was stupid. That was really one of the dumbest things ever. But still. If she'd heard his name, she'd know, his chair wouldn't be empty for long.

"The moment everything starts going right, something has to go wrong." She was mopey. This was Mopey Willow, and she was a champion at it. She was relieved Buffy was gone. She needed to mope.

Of course, that plan was folly. She'd no sooner found that perfect spot on the pillow to rest her chin after her sobs finally subsided, and settled into a nice daydream about Oz than there was a knock on the door. And it was a boy. Not Oz. She was inclined to shut it on that basis alone.

Of course, what followed...it was among one of the most painful things Willow had ever experienced. It was also one of the sweetest.

There stood Riley Finn, the culprit himself, the bearer of bad news and the ally of the Evil Professor Walsh. He was looking for Buffy, but Willow knew from the look on his face that he was relieved not to find her. He had that sweet look about him, a sort of "aw, garsh" thing that was very familiar and totally foreign all at once, if Buffy was in any way involved. Riley was more agitated than Willow remembered seeing him, though of course, that had usually been in class. He was a TA, after all. He wasn't a boy. Not like that.

She wasn't in the mood for this. She listened patiently and it was so apparent that Riley was sincere. But hey, Oz had been, too. Sincere. Loving.

His hair was adorably floppy, the kind a girl would love to run her fingers through to smooth it down. Willow knew Buffy's fingers would itch just looking at it. It was a habit she had when she was being especially affectionate. Willow tried to shake that thought and concentrate on Riley's words, which were increasingly unbelievable.

Riley was talking about honesty, good-guynik that he was. He so clearly was. The floppy hair, the kind eyes, the nice build. He was a good guy.

But so were slightly squirrel-y, short guys who didn't talk much but played guitar and danced and kissed so, so well.

"I've seen honest faces before. They usually come attached to liars." 

Riley's face fell ever so slightly. 

That was mean. That was below the belt. Any second Riley was going to shut down, his face would go kind of dark and that would be that. And Buffy would be safe. Buffy didn't need a man anyway, liar or no. Willow was just making up her mind to walk Mr. Riley Finn right out the door, but she looked up at the wrong moment.

He had puppy-dog eyes. He really did. And that was hard to resist. He was ready to walk away and Willow thought of Buffy's deepest desire - a normal life. Here was a nice, normal guy with all the requisite attributes. What the hell kind of friend was Willow to let him walk away like that?

Willow sighed. She did have a weakness for puppy-dog eyes.

Fine then. "She likes cheese... I'm not saying it's the key to her heart, but Buffy... she likes cheese."

As if that wasn't the stupidest thing. But Riley, Joe Nice Guy, All-American Beefcake, he just looked back at her as if to say "More please!" She couldn't stop. Buffy would probably be horrified to hear Willow talk about Mr. Gordo to a guy like this, but hey. It was the truth. And it was the kind of thing that a guy should know before he went all Parker Abrams on a girl.

She looked into Riley's eyes, really looked. There was no Parker Abrams in this one.

But there hadn't been in Oz, either. Once.

Willow felt the injustice in that. There was no reason to believe badly about anyone just because she felt miserable. And it wasn't fair to Buffy, really. Not every guy was going to treat her like that, or so Willow wanted desperately to believe.

So she told Riley about their party plans.

 _Oh. The party._ The one she was going to beg out of. Also the one for which Buffy could be, at this very minute, shopping for a hot new outfit. One Mr. Puppy-Dog Eyes might salivate over, discreetly.

She let him know, of course, that she was in no way his accomplice. After all, if her instincts let her down - _and let's face it_ , she thought, _my track-record isn't stellar_ \- she didn't want to share the blame.

Riley left with a smile and a ready thanks on his lips. "Ah, shucks, thanks Willow," he said, in her head, in a Beaver Cleaver voice, in black and white.

Willow knew, as the door shut behind him, no matter what she had told him, she was now complicit in whatever came of this. She was his ally.

_No. No, I am not, I'm just offering information. That's all. A real Buffy 411, that's me._

She sighed and picked her pillow back up. It would be a real shame if Riley turned out to be less than perfect.

-

Buffy came back to get ready, and she was chipper. A chipper Buffy who was on a mission. Her hair was freshly done, her nails manicured. She even had on a new shade of lipstick.

Willow narrowed her eyes at her friend. Was this "I'm a Survivor" Buffy, ready to flaunt what she had to prove she was above every backstabbing, fang-wielding man out there? Or "Look at Me, I Think I Love You" Buffy who was out to attract her not-so-secret crush?

Had Buffy ever talked about Riley? Willow had told Riley no, but now she wondered. "Buffy, where'd you say this party was?"

"Lowe House."

"Is that...that's Riley Finn's, isn't it?"

Buffy shrugged, and Willow read it as carefully nonchalant. "Sure, maybe. I guess so."

That was too casual. A no-decision, then.

She slipped on the new top, a soft halter that looked like it begged to be touched. She turned to the mirror to start fixing her hair and stopped. Just...stopped. 

"Willow?" This was not chipper!Buffy. This was emotionally vulnerable Buffy. This was the Buffy who trusted and had been paid back for it with real cruelty. Survivor Buffy.

"Buffy, you look wonderful." Willow tried to put as much feeling into that as she could. "I love that color on you, and so would anyone who saw you in it." Riley would probably like it a lot, but he'd be gentleman enough not to say so.

Willow tried again. "I mean, it's pretty, and it brings out your eyes." _Wait, what? Um_.

That wasn't helping. Buffy didn't seem to hear anything Willow said, and her face had contorted into a terribly miserable, low-self-esteem-here look.

"Should I even wear this?" she said, her voice small and hesitant all of a sudden. "I mean, what if...what if someone...I mean, it's pretty slutty. That was the point. I wanted to look...."

Willow's heart broke again for her friend. Buffy never thought twice about this sort of thing before. She enjoyed the way she looked, and why not? The Slayer only had so many chances to look beautiful and enticing. And one douchebag guy had somehow earned the right to take that from her?

Willow felt a dark bite of righteous anger at that and hated all men on behalf of them both.

"I think you look great. Not slutty, just like you're having fun. And you know, those parties get kinda hot."

Buffy raised an eyebrow at that. "Oh, really."

Willow's eyes widened at the realization. "No, not like that! Just, you know. The temperature. And that halter looks nice and cool. But hot. You do. Look hot, I mean." She blushed.

Buffy laughed, her uncertainty forgotten. "Thanks, Will. And I do, don't I?" She slipped on the shoes she once saved for nights at the Bronze. "Now, how about you? What are you going to wear?"

-

On the way over, Willow once again tried to feel Buffy out on the subject of Mr. Finn. Whose ally she was not, by the way.

"Riley looked pretty good in that sweater today, don't you think?"

She was no good at this. It didn't seem to matter. Buffy was noncommital, preoccupied. She changed the subject at every chance back to all the fun Willow was going to have at the party.

Yep, this On-A-Mission version of her best friend was a determined sort.

"Don't worry about me. I'll just go in, get a Coke, make the rounds. You should have fun, too, it's your night off and all."

"Well, yeah, silly, a night off to help you have fun. We both need this! A little dancing, a little loud music, no conversations about anything other than the weather and the MTV Movie Awards."

Buffy's perfect evening out. Not really Willow's style, and never had been, but Buffy was trying. Willow abandoned talk of Riley Finn and nodded in what she hoped was an enthusiastic manner as Buffy looped her arm through Willow's. 

-

"If you hurt her, I will beat you to death with a shovel. A vague disclaimer is nobody's friend. Have fun!" 

She flounced off to grab a Coke, leaving Riley gaping slightly at her. That was probably more to the point than necessary, but hey, it was the truth. Willow felt pretty sure she'd actually act on that threat now with Parker if he made an appearance. Riley, thankfully, was showing all the signs of over-eager and too-cute-for-words and that was thousands of leagues above Parker - and he had yet to actually speak to his unrequited.

Willow looked for a seat away from the loudest people and was thankful for a change that she was a natural wallflower. It was a lot easier to wallow when no one came seeking conversation. And this wasn't a conversation kind of party, anyway. She was almost thankful Buffy had dragged her here after all, though Willow would still rather go back to their room and mope.

She watched as Riley sought out her best friend. It didn't look terribly promising. He was a doof, truly. Willow giggled a little. She had experience with doofs, after all. Buffy really hadn't, and responded kindly to Riley's attempts at an advance, though she was clearly perplexed.

A few minutes later, Riley came to seek Willow. Buffy had gone off to dance, presumably. Riley looked perplexed and frustrated. He wasn't good at this. Willow immediately sympathized, and she wanted nothing more in that moment than for Riley to succeed, and Buffy to be happy.

"You don't understand, I'm good at things. That's what I do. I work hard, apply myself, get it done." 

_Well_ , Willow thought, _who says I don't understand that?_ She thought about Xander. That was a pretty bad train of thought to take, usually, but she stuck with it. Hadn't that always been part of the problem? She was an overachiever, and she couldn't apply those principles to her relationship with Xander. In a way, maybe that was part of the problem she was having over Oz, too. She didn't like to fail at anything, and it was failure if your boyfriend left you without saying exactly when he'd be back. Wasn't it?

Riley didn't have devastation written on his face, though. She snapped back to the problem at hand. Buffy wasn't one to try and read signals that weren't spelled out. This was as good a first step as any. "You failed extremely well," she said to Riley, who replied with an understated "Ha!" of disagreement.

He was rubbing his hands together in a slow and deliberate way, and she noticed for the first time that his knuckles on one hand were bruised. She frowned and wondered how that happened. A romantic troll of a thought suggested maybe he'd taken care of Parker in Buffy's defense. That seemed like the kind of thing Good Guyniks did. Xander would have.

Her head hurt. Oz, Xander, failure. And she wanted Oz right then, to tell it all to, and to hold on to for awhile until it stopped hurting.

She made her excuses and asked Riley to let Buffy know she had to leave. She knew he would go look for Buffy right then and tell her, and that would give them another chance to talk. Mission accomplished. She needed a break from being an accomplice, just to let her heart rest.

Riley was johnny-on-the-spot - he immediately sought out Buffy after leaving Willow with a sideways smile of commisseration. Of course, it wasn't Willow's heart he was there for, and Willow was just fine with that. She watched him for a minute as he made his way through the crowd. 

If Buffy would let him in a little, this could be good, she thought. Normal. Nice, normal, and not a vampire. All positives.

She turned and left, and the party went on without her.

-

**A few weeks later**

"You know, Willow told me about Mr. Gordo."

"She what?!"

"Don't look so worried, I think it's cute."

"Cute. Your girlfriend has an unhealthy attachment to a childhood object, a stuffed pig, and you just think it's cute."

"Wait, did you just say girlfriend?"

"Um. Maybe. Yes? I think so. Sure."

And the unmistakable sound of kissing.

Willow backed away from the dorm room door and resolved to study at the library. And she smiled broadly as she walked away. 

Sometimes being an accomplice did pay off. How about that.


End file.
